N\ 


PRESENTATION  AND  UNVEILING 

OF  THE 

Tablet  Commemorating  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration 

of  Independence,  May  20th,  1775,  and 

the  Twenty-Seven  Signers 

Erected  by  the  North  Carolina  Society  of 
the  Colonial  Dames  of  America 

THE   CAPITOL,  RALEIGH.  NORTH   CAROLINA 

Monday,  May  20th,    1912,    1:00  o'clock   P.  M. 

m 

PROGRAMME  OF  EXERCISES 

"  Carolina  "  .         -  Third  Regiment  Band,  N.  C.  N.  G. 

Prayer         _  Rev.  Wm.McC.  White,  D.  D. 

Pastor  of  Presbyterian  Church,  Raleigh,  N.  C. 

Meeklenbuig  Declaration  of  Independence 
Read  by 
Dr.  D.  HARVEY  HILL 
President  N.  C.  A.  and  M.  College 

Presentation  of  Tablet  to  the  State  of  North  Carolina 

Hon.  WALTER  CLARK 
Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  North  Carolina 

Acceptance  of  Tablet  for  the  State  of  North  Carolina 

His  Excellency,  WILLIAM  W.  KITCHIN 

Governor  of  North  Carolina 

"  America  "...         The  Third  Regiment  Band,  N.C.N  G. 

Adjourn  to  Rotunda 

Unveiling  of  Tablet  by  Thirteen  Members  of  the 

North  Carolina  Society  of  Colonial  Dames  of  America 

"  The  Star  Spangled  Banner"     _     _     The  Raleigh  High  School  Chorus 

Benediction        ....  Rev.  Wm.  McC.  White,  D.D. 

"Columbia  "  .         .  The  Third  Regiment  Band,  N.  C.  N.  G. 

123 


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i  IN  COMMEMORATION  OF  THL 

FAMOUS  20th  OF  MAY,  1775    < 

i  i 

i  Address  Delivered  on  May  20th,  1912,  in  the  State  \ 

?  Capitol,  at  Raleigh,  at  the  Presentation  of  the  I 

S  Mecklenburg  Declaration  Tablet  J 

I  —  \ 

>  By  Hon.  WALTER  CLARK 

i  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  North  Carolina  i 

•'■"■.'""■■•".■'•'.."'■.•••■•"•.■"<m"'m"i.<',.,.".,."i.»"'i'"m"'.>" ■,<" '"•,'••■.••>.,•••■,'"•."•■.•"..••«„'•«■.'"..'■«.•'■«,.•">. 

Governor  Kitchin,  Ladies  and  Fellow  Citizens: — 

During  the  long  reign  of  Queen  Victoria  of  England 
there  was  so  uniformly  fine  weather  when  she  attended  a 
public  function  that  it  became  proverbially  known  as 
"  Queen's  weather."  Of  course  today,  when  we  have  so 
many  queens  in  attendance  on  this  historic  occasion,  we 
have  a  perfect  day. 

We  all  feel  the  deepest  grief  at  the  absence  today  of  one 
who  ever  felt  the  greatest  interest  in  everything  that  re- 
flected honor  and  credit  upon  North  Carolina  and  its 
history — a  loyal  and  true  son  of  the  State  and  one  of  its 
most  distinguished  citizens.*  Peace  to  his  ashes  and 
honor  always  to  his  memory. 

To  understand  the  boldness,  the  audacity,  the  intensity 
of  conviction  of  the  men  who  made  the  Mecklenburg 
Declaration,  we  must  consider  the  surrounding  circum- 
stances as  they  appeared  to  those  men  and  not  as  we  see 
them  today  after  the  successful  result  of  the  movement 
that  they  initiated  and  after  the  splendid  achievements 
of  137  years.  The  declaration  they  made  was  till  then 
unknown  in  the  annals  of  history.    It  was  treason  not  only 

*  Hon.  R.  H.  Battle,  who  had  died  this  morning. 

.  125 

a 


to  the  government,  but  to  the  frame-work  of  society.  It 
was  the  initiative  by  the  people  themselves  of  a  govern- 
ment of  the  people  and  for  the  people. 

At  the  time  fo  the  Mecklenburg  De  laration  in  all  the 
bounds  of  the  thirteen  colonies  there  was  not  a  single  man 
of  any  prominence  who  had  declared  himself  for  indepen- 
dence. Washington,  Jefferson,  Adams,  Hancock  and 
others  who  became  great  leaders  were  at  that  time  busy 
in  proclaiming  that  they  did  not  favor  independence, 
that  Britain  had  no  more  loyal  sons  than  they  and  that 
they  were  seeking  only  the  redress  of  grievances  at  the 
hands  of  the  government.  We  have  Washington's  own 
words,  a  month  later,  when  he  took  command  of  the  army 
at  Cambridge,  that  he  "  abhorred  the  idea  of  indepen- 
dence," and  on  August  25,  1775,  Thomas  Jefferson  wrote 
a  letter  to  the  same  effect  which  has  been  published  in  his 
works. 

Great  Britain  was  at  that  time  the  wealthiest  and  pro- 
bably the  most  powerful  nation  in  the  world.  A  quarter 
of  a  century  later,  almost  alone  and  unaided,  she  defied 
the  colossal  military  genius  of  the  ages,  and  for  two  de- 
cades opposed  the  power  of  France,  until  she  finally  laid 
it  in  the  dust.  Against  that  country  from  which  they  had 
received  their  origin  and  their  government,  a  handful  of 
men  in  a  remote  village,  contrary  to  the  advice  and  teach- 
ings of  the  great  leaders  of  the  colonies,  defiantly  held 
their  meeting  and  proclaimed  to  all  the  world  that  the 
Americans  were  and  of  a  right  ought  to  be  free  and  indepen- 
dent people.  The  great  leaders  of  the  time  were  for  revolt 
against  oppression  and  a  redress  of  grievances.  The  men 
of  Mecklenburg  were  for  revolution,  a  complete  severing 
of  the  ties  that  bound  us  to  the  mother  country  and  an 
absolute  break  with  the  traditions  of  government. 

The  Mecklenburg  Declaration  is  another  proof  that 
all  movements  for  the  betterment  of  the  masses  and  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  rights  of  the  people,  and  all  revo- 
lutions to  assert  them,  have  come  from  the  people  them- 
selves and  never  originate  with  their  leaders,  however 
able  and  patriotic. 

126 


The  people  of  Mecklenburg  were  an  educated  people, 
God-fearing  and  self-reliant.  They  belonged  to  that 
great  Scotch-Irish  race  which  has  given  to  this  country 
so  many  of  its  Presidents,  so  many  orators,  so  many 
leaders  in  thought  and  action.  But  the  best  gift  that 
they  have  ever  bestowed  upon  the  world  is  their  steady 
maintenance  of  the  principle  that  the  masses  have  a  right 
to  think,  to  decide,  and  to  act  for  themselves.  These 
great  movements  have  always  come  from  the  ranks  of 
the  people.  It  was  at  no  suggestion  of  leaders,  upon  no 
resolution  of  constituted  authority,  but  upon  their  own 
initiative  and  acting  upon  their  own  instinctive  man- 
hood and  sense  of  right  that  the  unorganized  people,  the 
embattled  farmers  at  Lexington  "  fired  the  shot  that  was 
heard  around  the  world  "  and  drove  in  headlong  flight  the 
veteran  battalions  of  Britain  back  to  Boston.  It  was 
on  the  meadows  of  Ruth  that  the  Swiss  peasants  defied 
the  hitherto  overwhelming  power  of  Austria  and  inau- 
gurated the  republic,  which,  though  surrounded  by  mon- 
archies, has  survived  to  this  day. 

There  have  been  very  few,  if  any,  historical  events  about 
which  there  has  not  been  controversy,  from  that  far- 
off  primal  day  when  the  first  lady  of  the  land  was  turned 
out  of  all  her  possessions,  down  to  the  discussed  and  dis- 
puted occurrences  in  the  late  cabinet  of  our  only  living  ex- 
President.  Even  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration  has  not 
been  spared,  but  now  that  its  friends  have  the  ladies  on 
their  side,  they  feel  that  they  have  the  last  word.  At  any 
rate,  they  known  now  that  they  are  right.  No  one  denies 
that  there  was  a  declaration  in  Charlotte  in  May,  1775. 
It  has  been  contended  that  this  was  made  on  May  31  in- 
stead of  May  20.  The  difference  of  eleven  days  is  an 
entirely  immaterial  circumstance  in  itself.  It  has  been 
further  contended  that  the  resolutions  passed  May  31 
were  the  only  ones  and  that  those  accredited  on  May  20 
were  not  enacted  at  all. 

The  declaration  of  May  20  dissolved  the  political  bands 
which  connected  us  with  the  mother  country  and  ab- 
solved from  all  allegiance  to  the  Britich  crown.     And  it 

127 


was  further  resolved  "  We  do  hereby  declare  ourselves  a 
free  and  independent  people,  are  and  of  a  right  ought  to 
be  sovereign  and  self-governing."  The  resolves  of  May 
31  whose  authenticity  no  one  questions  provided  among 
other  things  that  "  The  Provincial  Congress  of  each  pro- 
vince, under  the  direction  of  the  great  Continental  Con- 
gress, is  invested  with  all  legislative  and  executive  power 
within  their  respective  provinces,  and  that  no  other  legis- 
lative or  executive  power  does  or  can  exist  at  this  time  in 
any  of  these  colonies."  It  was  further  resolved  that  all 
commissions,  civil  and  military,  heretofore  granted  by 
the  crown,  were  null  and  void  and  that  all  former  laws 
were  now  suspended.  The  meeting  then  proceeded  to 
pass  resolutions  to  create  a  court  to  provide  for  taxation 
and  appointed  officers  to  administer  the  government  of 
the  country  till  laws  could  be  passed.  These  resolutions 
on  their  face  indicate  that  there  had  been  a  previous  de- 
claration absorbing  from  allegiance. 

The  evidence  is  plenary  that  resolutions  were  adopted 
at  a  meeting  presided  over  by  Abram  Alexander,  and  when 
J.  McKnitt  Alexander  was  secretary.  The  resolutions  of 
May  31  were  signed  by  Ephraim  Brevard,  "  Clerk  of  the 
Committee."  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  there  were  two 
meetings  and  the  just  inference  is  that  the  latter  resolu- 
tions were  adopted  by  a  committee  which  at  the  meeting 
on  May  20  had  been  appointed  to  formulate  regulations 
and  provide  for  officials — action  which  had  been  rendered 
necessary  by  the  dissolution  of  all  connection  with  the 
mother  country  and  absolution  from  all  allegiance  which 
had  been  declared  at  such  former  meeting. 

The  difference  in  the  dates  is  of  no  importance  and 
either  set  of  resolutions  was  a  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence. The  only  practical  importance  of  the  controversy 
is  the  implication  that  the  authorities  of  the  State  of 
North  Carolina  and  the  people  of  Mecklenburg  them- 
selves were  incompetent  or  careless  in  the  investigation 
of  the  truth  and  recklessly  palmed  off  a  falsehood  upon 
the  world. 

Unfortunately,  the  declaration  of  May  20  was  destroyed 
when  the  house  of  J.   McKnitt  Alexander,  secretary  of 

128 


that  meeting,  was  burned  in  1800.  A  copy  which  had  been 
sent  to  England  in  1775  was  taken  out  of  the  files  of  the 
British  Archives  by  Mr.  Stephenson,  of  Virginia,  our 
minister  to  England  in  1837,  and  was  lost.  The  copy  sent 
to  General  Davie  by  Mr.  Alexander  after  his  house  was 
burned  was  admittedly  written  from  memory.  There  was 
simply  a  fortuituous  combination  of  circumstances.  The 
adherents  of  May  31  take  advantage  of  this  to  deny  the 
authenticity  of  the  copy  of  the  declaration  of  May  20  fur- 
nished to  Judge  Martin  prior  to  the  fire  which  is  published 
by  him  in  his  history,  and  to  demand  further  proof  of  an 
act  which  after  the  long  lapse  of  time  cannot  be  furnished. 
They  ignore  the  fact  the  verdict  made  up  by  the  people  of 
Mecklenburg  nearly  a  century  ago,  when  survivors  of  the 
great  scene  were  still  among  them,  and  that  the  judgment 
rendered  upon  the  verdict  after  due  investigation  by  the 
the  people  of  the  State,  are  evidence.  The  burden  is 
upon  those  who  would  impeach  the  bona  fides  and  cor- 
rectness of  that  judgment  to  furnish  evidence  that  there 
was  no  declaration  on  May  20.  We  must  concede  some- 
thing to  the  intelligence  and  integrity  of  former  genera- 
tions.    Those  virtues  did  not  originate  in  our  day. 

I  would  not  fatigue  this  audience  with  restating  the 
evidence  in  favor  of  the  declaration  of  May  20.  No  new 
fact  or  argument  could  now  be  produced  as  to  a  matter 
which  has  been  so  thoroughly  investigated  and  so  fully 
discussed.  It  was  called  to  the  attention  of  the  public 
in  1819,  and  after  thorough  investigation  the  Legisla- 
ture of  1830-31,  which  contained  many  men  of  emi- 
nence, adopted  a  resolution  which  fully  sustained  the 
authenticity  of  May  20.  From  that  day  to  this,  almost 
without  a  break,  that  date  has  been  celebrated  on  each 
recurring  anniversary  by  the  people  of  Charlotte,  than 
whom  there  are  none  more  intelligent.  In  1861  the  State 
honored  the  20th  of  May  as  the  date  of  our  first  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  by  calling  together  the  conven- 
tion which  on  that  day  declared  our  independence  of  the 
Federal  Government,  and  the  convention  also  placed 
that  date  upon  our  State  flage  where  it  has  remained  to 

129 


this  day.    The  State  has  also  made  May  20  a  legal  holiday 
and  placed  the  date  upon  our  State  Seal. 

So  far  as  the  deliberate  investigation  and  the  Official 
action  of  the  State  through  the  representatives  of  the 
people  for  nearly  one  hundred  years  can  settle  the  matter, 
the  verdict  has  been  rendered  and  final  judgment  has  been 
rendered. 

The  first  investigation  was  had  when  many  survivors 
of  the  event  were  still  living  who  could  speak  as  eye- 
witnesses as  to  what  transpired  and  as  to  the  correctness  of 
the  date.  As  late  as  the  Celebration  of  1826,  some  seventy 
of  the  Revolution  were  present  and  took  part  in  the  cele- 
bration. In  1831,  and  even  later,  there  were  still  some  of 
these  survivors  who  took  part  in  these  celebrations.  No 
celebration  of  May  31  has  ever  been  attempted. 

At  the  centennial  of  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of 
May  20,  1875,  in  the  presence  of  a  vast  crowd  gathered 
from  many  States,  an  honored  son  of  North  Carolina,* 
who  had  represented  this  State  both  in  the  United  States 
and  Confederate  States  Senate,  and  who  had  served  two 
terms  as  its  chief  executive,  summed  up  the  evidence  in 
a  dispassionate  analysis  which  has  left  nothing  which 
could  be  added.  He  was  an  able  lawyer,  accustomed  to 
weigh  evidence,  of  the  soundest  judgment,  and  conscien- 
tious in  all  his  dealings.  Had  he  found  the  slightest  re- 
sons  to  doubt  his  conclusions  he  would  have  unhesitating- 
ly have  stated  it.  Judge  Gaston,  Dr.  F.  L.  Hawks  and 
many  others  of  our  ablest  men  have  also  spoken  and 
written  their  concurrence  in  the  authenticity  of  the  date 
and  declaration  of  May  20. 

We  know  that  in  January,  1775,  the  Committees  of 
Safety,  in  parts  of,  if  not  throughout  the  State,  agreed  to 
hold  monthly  meetings  on  the  twentieth  of  each  month 
during  that  year,  and  though  the  records  have  been  largely 
destroyed,  enough  remains  to  show  that  these  meetings 
were  so  held.  On  that  very  May  20,  1775,  on  the  day  the 
meeting  at  Charlotte  was  being  held,  we  know  that  these 

*  Hon.  W.  A.  Graham. 

130 


committees  held  their  meetings  in  Pitt,  New  Hanover  and 
in  other  counties,  and  that  on  June  20,  1775,  the  "  Liberty 
Point  Declaration  "  in  Cumberland  was  adopted  and  that 
other  counties  had  their  meetings  on  the  same  day. 

The  origin  of  the  opposition  to  the  20th  of  May  is  based 
upon  the  letters  of  Mr.  Jefferson  and  of  John  Adams 
written  in  1819 — forty-four  years  after  the  event — stating 
they  did  not  remember  ever  to  have  heard  of  it.  This 
would  equally  call  in  question  the  resolves  of  May  31. 
The  testimony  of  survivors  is  explicit  that  copies  of  the 
declaration  of  May  20  were  sent  to  our  delegates  to 
Congress  in  Philadelphia,  and  we  have  the  affidavit  of 
the  messenger,  Captain  Jack,  that  he  carried  and  de- 
livered these  copies.  Congress  at  that  time  was  denying 
any  desire  for  independence,  and  these  resolutions  of 
Mecklenburg  were  probably  not  made  public.  And  if 
they  had  been,  county  resolutions  from  North  Carolina 
would  have  made  no  abiding  impression  upon  Mr.  Jefferson 
or  Mr.  Adams.  Writing  in  this  same  year,  1S19,  in  regard 
to  a  controversy  as  to  the  date  of  the  signing  of  the  Phil- 
adelphia Declaration,  Mr.  Jefferson  positively  affirmed 
that  it  was  "  signed  by  all  the  members  present  except 
Mr.  Dickerson  on  July  4."*  Whereas  we  now  know  from 
the  secret  journal  of  the  Congress  that  no  member  what- 
ever signed  it  till  August  2,  and  we  know  from  letters 
of  members  written  at  the  time  that  others  signed  it  at 
various  dates  along  during  the  fall  and  Mr.  McKean  sev- 
eral months  later.  Some  signed  it  who  were  not  even 
members  on  July  4,  and  some  who  were  members  at  that 
date  did  not  sign  it  at  all.  t  Mr.  Jefferson  lived  a  life 
crowded  with  memories,  but  if  his  memory  was  thus  de- 
dective  as  to  the  incidents  connected  with  the  greatest 
event  in  his  whole  life,  it  is  not  astonishing  that  in  this 
same  year,  1819,  when  he  was  in  his  seventy-seventh  year, 
and  Mr.  Adams  was  in  his  eight y-fourth,  that  they  retained 
no  recollection  of  resolutions  passed  by  a  county  down  in 
North  Carolina.    Mr  Jefferson  stated  in  his  letter  that  he 


*  Hazelton's  History  of  Declaration  of  Independence,  195. 
t  Do.,  204. 

131 


would  not  say  that  the  declaration  of  May  20  was  a 
fabrication,  while  Mr.  Adams  in  his  letter  of  that  year  and 
also  one  written  in  1813,  said  that  after  long  hanging  in 
the  balance  while  the  declaration  at  Philadelphia  was 
finally  unanimous,  that  it  was  carried  by  one  majority 
which  was  the  vote  of  Mr.  Hewes,  of  North  Carolina,  who 
"  became  convinced  by  the  perusal  of  letters  and  public 
proceedings  that  the  majority  in  that  province  favored 
independence."* 

We  must  remember  that  when  this  matter  was  fully 
investigated  in  1S19  that  the  date  of  the  declaration  was 
1775,  was  no  farther  off  than  1868  is  from  us  now,  as  to 
which  many  living  people  can  give  conclusive  testimony. 
We  know  that  two  of  the  most  prominent  men,  f  who 
boldy  and  effectively  led  the  minority  in  this  hall  in  186S 
and  others,  are  still  alive  and  their  statement  of  the  proceed- 
ings here  would  command  respect  as  did  that  of  the  Meck- 
lenburg survivors  in  1819. 

Without  going  into  details,  the  authenticity  of  the  de- 
claration of  May  20  rests  upon  positive  evidence;  the 
testimony  of  survivors,  the  copy  of  Judge  Martin  made 
before  the  fire,  and  the  Davie  copy  made  afterwards  from 
memory,  and  upon  the  investigation  and  conclusion  reach- 
ed by  the  intelligent  people  of  Mecklenburg  and  upon  the 
decision  to  the  same  effect  made  by  the  authorities  of 
this  State  and  the  respectful  observance  of  the  day  by 
both  for  nearly  a  century.  The  case  against  it  is  based 
upon  the  inability  to  produce  the  original  which  is  not 
unnatural  as  it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  upon  the  fact  that 
Mr.  Jefferson  did  not  remember  it  and  upon  the  fact 
that  there  were  resolves  passed  on  May  31. 

The  latter  were  proper  sequels  to  a  more  definite  declara- 
tion on  May  20.  Certainly  it  is  not  reasonable  to  infer 
therefrom  a  total  denial  of  all  the  direct  evidence  as  to 
May  20  which  was  found  satisfactory  by  the  people  of 
Mecklenburg  and  of  this  State,   and  which  both  have 

*Hazelton's  History  of  Declaration  of  Independence,  210. 

Do.,  23,  119. 
t  Thomas  J.  Jarvis  and  John  W.  Graham. 

132 


acted  on  for  nearly  a  century.  The  evidence  in  its  favor  is 
positive.  That  against  it  is  merely  argument  and  inference. 
The  action  taken  at  Mecklenburg  on  May  20  was  in 
accordance  with  the  general  forward  tone  of  public  sen- 
timent in  North  Carolina,  for  it  was  by  this  State  that  the 
first  resolution  to  instruct  the  delegates  at  Philadelphia  in 
favor  of  National  independence  was  passed  on  April  12, 
1776,  a  date  which  we  have  also  placed  upon  our  State 
flag,  but  which  is  also  ignored  by  Mr.  Jefferson.  The 
first  victory  for  the  patriot  cause  was  won  by  North 
Carolinians  at  Moore's  Creek  on  February  27.  1776. 
Moreover,  it  was  in  this  State  ten  years  pevious,  in  1765, 
at  Wilmington,  that  the  only  opposition  to  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  Stamp  Act  was  made  by  men  with  arms  in 
their  hands. 

A  distinguished  mathematician  was  induced  to  read 
"  Paradise  Lost."  When  asked  his  opinion,  he  replied:  "It 
is  very  fine  but  what  does  it  prove?"  If  the  advocates 
of  May  31  could  prove  their  case  the  result  would  simply 
be  to  find  that  there  was  a  declaration  of  independence 
made  eleven  days  later  in  Charlotte,  not  in  exactly  the 
same  words,  but  fully  as  definite  as  that  of  May  20.  What 
would  be  the  benefit  achieved? 

To  raise  doubts  as  to  matters  of  history  which  the  world 
has  deemed  well  settled  is  a  favorite  diversion  with  some. 
It  requires  merely  a  little  leisure  and  ingenuity  and  it  con- 
fers a  gentle  glow  of  satisfaction  to  be  better  informed 
than  other  people.  Archbishop  Whately  some  years  ago 
wrote  a  most  interesting  pamphlet  entitled  "  Historic 
Doubts  About  Napoleon  Bonaparte,"  in  which  he  demon- 
strated, by  the  use  of  the  reasoning  usually  adopted  by 
those  questioning  historical  facts,  that  the  emperor  Napo- 
leon had  never  existed  and  that  what  was  reported  about 
him  was  legendary  and  mythical.  Bv  the  same  process 
the  Mecklenburg  Declaration  or  any  other  historical 
fact  whatever  can  be  called  in  question  whenever  by  the 
lapse  of  time  additional  evidence  cannot  be  had. 

On  no  point  has  these  historical  doubts  been  more  fre- 
quently raised  than  as  to  the  correctness  of  dates.    Scien- 

133 


tific  men  have  sought  to  prove  that  Christmas  was  not 
the  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  our  Savior,  but  that  hz  was 
born  in  August  when  the  shepherds  were  "  keeping  their 
watch  over  their  flocks  by  night  "  and  they  further  demon- 
strated that  this  momentous  event  occurred  seven  years 
before  the  beginning  of  our  present  era,  and  hence  that 
in  truth  this  is  the  year  1919  instead  of  the  year  1912. 
This  reasoning  has  been  adopted  by  many  eminent  di- 
vines as  correct,  but  if  true  it  in  no  wise  shakes  the  founda- 
tion of  our  faith. 

There  are  those  who  say  and  truly,  that  the  American 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  adopted  on  July  2*,  and 
hence  that  day  should  be  celebrated  instead  of  July  4. 
They  also  say  with  truth  that  the  declaration  instead  of 
being  signed  on  July  4  was  not  signed  altogether  on  that 
nor  any  other  day,  but  that  from  time  to  time  for  some 
weeks  the  members  of  the  Congress  were  appending  their 
signatures  to  that  immortal  document,  t  Had  that  in- 
strument been  destroyed  by  fire  we  would  have  had  a 
similar  controversy  as  to  its  date  and  language. 

However  these  immaterial  matters  may  be,  the  time 
will  never  come  when  the  Christian  people  of  any  land 
will  celebrate  Christmas  in  August  nor  change  the  dates 
of  all  past  occurrence.1-.  And  as  long  as  the  fourth  of  July 
returns  when  ever  the  sun  shall  throw  his  roseate  gleams 
on  the  storm-bound  coast  of  Maine  the  cannon  shall 
reverberate,  and  to  paraphrase  the  language  of  Mr. 
Webster,  "  keeping  pace  with  the  flying  hours  as  they 
speed,"  along  the  great  lakes  of  the  north,  through  the 
valleys  of  the  mighty  river,  across  the  great  mountains, 
martial  music  and  the  roar  of  a  cannon  shall  keep  fresh  the 
day  in  the  remembrance  of  a  free  people.  And  so  long  as 
this  State  shall  revere  the  actions  of  our  forefathers  and 
have  confidence  in  their  integrity  and  their  intelligence,  the 
date  which  this  State  has  placed  on  its  flag,  and  on  its 
great  seal,  and  which  it  has  set  apart  as  a  State  holiday, 
shall  be  observed  by  our  people. 

*  Hazelton's  History  of  Declaration  of  Independence,  166. 
t  Do.,  210. 

134 


It  is  to  the  ladies  of  North  Carolina,  and  especially  to 
the  Society  of  the  Colonial  Dames,  that  we  owe  this 
bronze  tablet  which  is  to  stand  imbedded  in  the  granite 
walls  of  this  Capitol  in  perpetual  memorial  of  the  great 
deed  of  the  men  of  Charlotte  and  Mecklenburg  on  the  day 
137  years  ago.  Some  one  has  said  that  if  doubt  and  skep- 
ticism should  corrupt  the  race  of  men  and  belief  in  God, 
and  immortality  should  seem  to  perish  from  the  earth, 
it  would  abide  in  the  hearts  of  pure-minded  women  who 
would  raise  up  at  their  knees  the  children  whose  faith  in 
another  generation  should  revive,  remake  and  redeem 
humanity.  Should  this  Nation  seem  ready  to  perish  by 
luxury  and  corruption,  should  be  lose  faith  in  the  valor 
and  patriotism  of  our  men,  it  is  in  the  pure  hearts  of  our 
women  that  patriotic  remembrances  of  an  earlier  and 
purer  age  will  be  perpetuated  and  at  their  knees  be  brought 
up  a  race  of  men  who  shall  redeem  and  save  the  Republic. 

It  is  to  our  glorious  women  that  we  owe  the  monuments 
all  over  the  State,  which  recall  and  honor  the  sacrifice  of 
themselves  by  the  men  of  1861-65,  and  it  is  to  them  that 
we  owe  these  tablets  that  recall  the  patriotic  deeds  of  the 
great  Revolution  when  these  colonies  won  in  the  great- 
est movement  of  people  in  all  the  ages. 

Your  Excellency,  on  behalf  of  the  Colonial  Dames  of 
North  Carolina,  and  at  their  request,  I  now  have  the 
honor  to  present  to  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  through 
you  as  its  chief  executive,  this  tablet  in  imperishable 
bronze,  which  shall  recall  to  all  future  times  the  great 
deed  which  was  accomplished  at  Charlotte,  in  Mecklen- 
burg County,  on  May  20,  1775. 


GOVERNOR  KITCHIN'S  SPEECH 

"  I  have  heard  with  great  interest  of  the  Mecklenburg 
Declaration  of  Independence,  as  told  by  your  distin- 
guished Chief  Justice,  and  it  gives  me  great  pleasure  to 
accept  this  tablet  given  by  the  Colonial  Dames  of  North 
Carolina. 

135 


"  It  has  been  a  habit  of  civilized  people  from  the  time 
of  Moses  to  this  good  hour  to  establish  monuments  to 
things  along  the  pathway  of  humanity,  and  as  we  recall 
things  occurring  as  we  emerge  from  savages,  a  few  things 
stand  out  like  mountain  peaks.  This  has  been  especially 
so  during  the  last  several  centuries. 

"  There  have  been  three  events  of  surpassing  impor- 
tance. Columbus  discovered  America  and  almost  doubled 
the  world;  Luther  did  not  discover  the  reformation  but 
found  the  spirit  slumbering  among  the  people  and  our 
own  Revolution  was  the  result  of  a  popular  uprising 
against  organized  injustice.  Always  there  has  been  some 
man  in  the  crowd  to  make  the  bold  strike  and  down 
among  the  people  was  the  great  determination  to  be  free." 

The  Governor  spoke  of  the  hypocrites,  time-servers  and 
non-combatants  who  delayed  the  coming  of  freedom  and 
touching  the  controversy  as  to  the  day,  said:  "  I  am  never 
interested  in  these  controversies.  My  heart  is  more  filled 
with  patriotism  than  with  historical  fact.  I  am  more  in- 
terested in  patriotism  than  in  historians."  I  feel  some- 
what like  Berry  Davidson,  who,  when  asked  to  prove 
some  assertion  made  against  an  opponent,  said:  "  I  don't 
have  to  prove  it.  I  said  it  is  so  myself."  And  that  is  the 
way  with  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration.  It  is  so  because 
they  said  so  themselves.  They  believe  it  and  keep  on 
saying  it. 

"  The  kings  and  nobility  have  been  compelled  to  yield 
to  the  people. 

"  I  have  come  to  congratulate  you  upon  the  patriotic 
work  of  the  Colonial  Dames,  what  they  have  done  and 
are  doing.  I  did  not  come  to  make  a  speech.  You  have 
heard  a  most  eloquent  one.  I  accept  this  tablet  on  behalf 
of  a  great  State,  and  not  personally  because  I  have  no  right 
to  do  that,  much  as  it  is  a  personal  pleasure  and  privilege. 
The  great  majority  of  our  people  will  revere  the  Mecklen- 
burg Declaration  not  only  for  the  event  itself  but  for  the 
Twentieth  of  May  on  which  it  was  written." 


